In the Name of God the Untouchables of India Olivia Arthur Photography

In the Name of God

Olivia Arthur photographed the ramnamis in India. These leather workers are on the lowest rung of the caste system. Because they process the skins of the holy cows they are 'untouchables' and are, for instance, forbidden to enter Hindu temples. As an expression of their own proud religious convictions the ramnamis tattoo the name of the god Ram all over their bodies. In this way they wish to show that everyone is equal in the eyes of God and that they have no need of temples to confess their faith. The tattoos of a divine name on the skin of an unclean person are at the same time a provocation addressed to the higher castes.

Olivia Arthur (b. 1980, Great Britain) is the winner of the Magnum Photos Inge Morath Award 2007.

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